I'm planning on getting some in the near future and installing an HID light in one and a yellow capsule in the other.
Has anyone ever installed an HID kit in their Dominator headlights? I'd like to know how the output is, and if there's any cutoff at all.
I'm trying to go for the look I had on my Honda Reflex Scooter.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/My%20MC-54-250/10.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/My%20MC-54-250/11.jpg)
please don't. all your're doing is decreasing your visibilaty and incrasing glare to incoming traffic. I hate all the Honda Civic ricer kiddys with HIDs blinding me, even if they're behind me driving.
I'm actually planning on installing a shield on the bottom of the bulb so that the light only hits the top part of the lamp. The top of the lamp only reflects to the floor, so it doesn't blind people. I don't know how you read that HID's decrease visibility. I would agree if I had said I was going with 10K bulbs, or something like that.
Also, a single HID on a bike, properly aimed, isn't as bad as aftermarket HID's on a car. The lamps are a lot smaller, so it doesn't shoot out the light as wide as a car. I've seen many bikes with HID's and they never bothered me. Even on "Honda's". If you aim the lights down enough, you won't blind on-coming traffic.
I do like projectors with OEM Kits though. If I had the cash I wouldn't mind making a retrofit.
Back to my original question.
I don't think he meant the HIDs, I think he was referring to the yellow light. Any different color isn't going to work as well as normal white.
You should've just put the dominators on your reflex scooter
Quote from: tt_four on August 02, 2009, 09:15:48 AM
I don't think he meant the HIDs, I think he was referring to the yellow light. Any different color isn't going to work as well as normal white.
You should've just put the dominators on your reflex scooter
Lol. Yeah, I should have. :D
He said
"please don't. all your're doing is decreasing your visibilaty and incrasing glare to incoming traffic. I hate all the Honda Civic ricer kiddys with HIDs blinding me, even if they're behind me driving. "I'm pretty sure he meant the HID since he mentioned it. :tongue2:
The Yellow light is only a glass capsule over a regular H4 Bulb.
I assumed these would be the same strength and wattage as the ugly ones some people put on their cars (aftermarket compared to OEM), but since you already figured out the glare part, I guess it comes down to what you prefer. good luck.
ED, how much do you know about hid :confused:? There definetly won't be a decrease in visibility. I have hid on my 8G galant w/projectors and I can't be happier. Planning on getting a 4300k kit for the GS.
Quote from: Ed500 on August 02, 2009, 02:22:27 AM
please don't. all your're doing is decreasing your visibilaty and incrasing glare to incoming traffic. I hate all the Honda Civic ricer kiddys with HIDs blinding me, even if they're behind me driving.
How do HID kits decrease visability? Doesn't make sense to me.
Lighting 101.
Yellow (3000K) is the BEST for driving during bad weather conditions such as rain, fog, snow, etc. BUT you've gotta get REAL HID kits... not the coated bulbs. The difference:
*Coated bulbs are regular halogen bulbs with a film coating on the surface. Therefore, THOSE decrease light output (measured in LUMENS).
*HID use different technology to produce a higher output light source.
One thing I agree with tho... unless your bike/car has projectors in the headlights, DON'T put an HID kit. It's tacky and... nope, it's just tacky.
I'm planning on putting 3000K (yellow) HID kits into my Ford Ranger's fog lamps. The headlights are staying halogen since they've got reflectors.
Some might say that Yellow fog lights in a Ford Ranger is tacky as well. Yellow fog lights are UKDM and JDM standard on a lot of cars.
A Ford Ranger is... Well an American Truck. I've thought about doing that to my lifted Toyota, but have thought against it. At least mine is JDM. :icon_razz: To each his own, I guess. ;)
I guess I didn't explain very well. I was comparing aftermarket HIDs to OEM HIDs.
(http://i26.tinypic.com/1z2kbrm.jpg)
I know what you meant Ed500. I've done a few retrofits and used to think just like you. I'm just lazy now, and going to school full time has made me poor.
This is my old 89 Supra Turbo with a full TSX Set-up and JDM Yellow halogen fog lights, not 3000K HID and not yellow light bulbs.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/Front5.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/My%20Supra%20New/30.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/Yellow%20fog%20Capsules/111111111111.jpg)
My Girlfriend's 05 Accord with full TSX Set-up as well.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/HID7FullyCharged.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/HID2.jpg)
I've learned that halogens just aren't as good as projectors, but they're OK if you're a "Balla on a budget". Just aim them down to not blind the hell out of other cars.
that's a beautiful Supra (I love older boxy cars like the older supra, Alltrac or Starion). I myself worked on a 91 3000gt vr4 project for a few years.
(http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/3909/033ucv.jpg) (http://img30.imageshack.us/i/033ucv.jpg/)
(http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9092/039nvl.jpg) (http://img5.imageshack.us/i/039nvl.jpg/)
In any case, good luck with the HID project.
Cool. I had friends with RX7's (Early and late 80's models), RX2's and RX3's, Starions, 80's and 90's Z's, 3000GT's and eclipses. My first race, after getting my Supra, was with a 94 or 95 Eclipse Turbo which blew it's head gasket after a few races.
Here's a few more pics.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/Supra%202008/DSC_0082.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/Supra%202008/000_0050.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/P1010399.jpg)
Quote from: Archangel1183 on August 02, 2009, 02:38:12 PM
Some might say that Yellow fog lights in a Ford Ranger is tacky as well. Yellow fog lights are UKDM and JDM standard on a lot of cars.
A Ford Ranger is... Well an American Truck. I've thought about doing that to my lifted Toyota, but have thought against it. At least mine is JDM. :icon_razz: To each his own, I guess. ;)
I'm taking about ADDING them to my FOGS... not to my headlights. Huge difference. Fogs help you see better in bad weather.
Quote from: annguyen1981 on August 02, 2009, 05:55:51 PM
Quote from: Archangel1183 on August 02, 2009, 02:38:12 PM
Some might say that Yellow fog lights in a Ford Ranger is tacky as well. Yellow fog lights are UKDM and JDM standard on a lot of cars.
A Ford Ranger is... Well an American Truck. I've thought about doing that to my lifted Toyota, but have thought against it. At least mine is JDM. :icon_razz: To each his own, I guess. ;)
I'm taking about ADDING them to my FOGS... not to my headlights. Huge difference. Fogs help you see better in bad weather.
Yeah, I know. Some Ducati's, Buells, and other sport bikes came with a single HID light and a yellow light for the same reason, better visibility in bad weather, and more easily visible by other drivers.
Quote from: Archangel1183 on August 02, 2009, 06:03:53 PM
Quote from: annguyen1981 on August 02, 2009, 05:55:51 PM
Quote from: Archangel1183 on August 02, 2009, 02:38:12 PM
Some might say that Yellow fog lights in a Ford Ranger is tacky as well. Yellow fog lights are UKDM and JDM standard on a lot of cars.
A Ford Ranger is... Well an American Truck. I've thought about doing that to my lifted Toyota, but have thought against it. At least mine is JDM. :icon_razz: To each his own, I guess. ;)
I'm taking about ADDING them to my FOGS... not to my headlights. Huge difference. Fogs help you see better in bad weather.
Yeah, I know. Some Ducati's, Buells, and other sport bikes came with a single HID light and a yellow light for the same reason, better visibility in bad weather, and more easily visible by other drivers.
Hmm... that's odd. I've never seen a bike that came stock with yellow headlights. Got any specific models in mind?
Didn't the old Yam' FJXX come with one yellow headlight? :dunno_black:
I can't seem to find any info on which ones, but in the 90's I would see a lot of CBR's and GSXR's (Both with dual round headlights) with one yellow and one regular halogen light.
I"m actually about to cut up my spare headlights for my car to install an e46 projector with hid's. I researched quite a bit on doing a retro for the gs before i researched it for my car. I concluded that it wouldn't really be all that better than the oem unit. My reasoning behind this is that when you're taking a turn, even with the oem housing, you can't see through it. There is a nice cut off that works well when you're going straight but not so much around turns. I have to turn my highs on or just pray nothing comes in front of me around the turn. This problem (if you will) will only get worse with a projector hid set up... and even worse than that without projectors and hid's (glare etc etc). That's my verdict anyways, i ended up getting the ultra silverstars, which work quite nicely at a fraction of the cost :)
The thing about Silverstars is that they add a light blue film on the bulb to give it the "Ultra white" color. This blocks out some of the light that a normal bulb would emit making Silverstars less helpful than a regular bulb.
They should make bikes with smart headlights that automatically adjust for turns.
I just went out to test my Dominator headlights and realized that they have a cut-off. I looked closer at the lens and they are E-code headlights. :icon_twisted:
In case you don't know what that means, E-code headlights are Euro Spec approved headlights made specially with cut-offs to prevent blinding other on coming drivers.
Universal E-code 7x6 rectangular headlights and 7" round headlights are a very popular upgrade in older car/truck forums because of the very nice cut-off they give out with HID lights.
This makes it easier to install HID lights on my bike. :wink:
Here's an old friends Supra with 7x6 E-Code headlights and aftermarket HID kit. You can see that the light only goes up to the doors on the cars.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/E-Code%20HID/MikeT002.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/E-Code%20HID/100_2113.jpg)
Quote from: Archangel1183 on August 09, 2009, 08:39:02 PM
Here's an old friends Supra with 7x6 E-Code headlights and aftermarket HID kit. You can see that the light only goes up to the doors on the cars.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/E-Code%20HID/MikeT002.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/E-Code%20HID/100_2113.jpg)
+1. makes me miss my old ride . . . . . *cue reminiscence
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb144/redhen2/DSCN0299.jpg)
Nice Mk2 man. ^^
Well, I'm back. I took a picture of the cut-off that I'm talking about. I need to find my HID kit and install it for better pictures.
The yellow one on the left is roundish because I added a round yellow capsule. The right one is stock halogen and you can see the cut-off.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/katfish/GS500/Cut-off.jpg)
I have a set of projector headlights for my car. A good projector setup will be far better than any reflector style lighting could ever be. a concentrated, sharp cutoff that is properly aimed is key. I run halogen lamps in my projectors because the light is so focused that i dont feel like hid's are immediately necessary. ill post some cutoff pictures tomorrow.
however, a single, dual filament bulb setup in a reflector housing is the problem with hids on the ricers and in bikes, as im sure many of you know. because there's no clean cutoff of a reflector housing, the low beam usually produces some glare, while the high beam is unbearable for oncoming drivers with a bi-xenon kit. projector retrofits would be pretty difficult on a bike because of how much more the lights "bounce" with the bike. nothing is more irritating than a shaking projector cutoff. proper aim is key, and hid's in reflector housings are generally a bad idea.
however, if you can make it work and not have too much glare, go for it. 4300k hids produce much more light than than a halogen bulb can, while drawing less power (usually 35w vs 55w).
You can always get GE nighthawks to improve visability with halogen bulbs. theyre brighter than stock bulbs but have no coating to tint them, so its just pure light, and more of it hitting the road, which is what matters.
Did you read my other posts, kyle_99_gtp? These are E-code lights with a cut-off.
I've been part of HIDPlanet forums for over 3 years, so I know a bit about lighting. I know about the differences between projectors and halogens, 35W vs 55W (Brighter, draw more energy, don't last as long), and have tried most bulbs from Sylver stars (Crap) to GE Nightahawks (Eh) to HIR Bulbs( http://hirheadlights.com/) before I finally began to retrofit HID projectors.
Although there is nothing better (so far) than HID projectors for HID lights, I am on a budget and not planning on retrofitting these. The cut-off on these is nowhere near as good as a projector. I just want to be more visible while trying to not blind on-coming traffic the least possible. I also have some home-made "Casper shields" that I'm going to go with if I don't like the end result. These were given very good feedback on HID forums.
I honestly don't mean to sound like a prick or cocky, I'm just tired of reading negative posts.
Quote
Did you read my other posts, kyle_99_gtp? These are E-code lights with a cut-off.
I've been part of HIDPlanet forums for over 3 years, so I know a bit about lighting. I know about the differences between projectors and halogens, 35W vs 55W (Brighter, draw more energy, don't last as long), and have tried most bulbs from Sylver stars (Crap) to GE Nightahawks (Eh) to HIR Bulbs( http://hirheadlights.com/) before I finally began to retrofit HID projectors.
Although there is nothing better (so far) than HID projectors for HID lights, I am on a budget and not planning on retrofitting these. The cut-off on these is nowhere near as good as a projector. I just want to be more visible while trying to not blind on-coming traffic the least possible. I also have some home-made "Casper shields" that I'm going to go with if I don't like the end result. These were given very good feedback on HID forums.
I honestly don't mean to sound like a prick or cocky, I'm just tired of reading negative posts.
actually my response wasn't directed towards you, i was just sharing the little bit i know about lighting for people that havent bothered to think much about it. i was only condensing the explanation of why hid's in bikes are
generally a bad idea for other on here.
i probably shouldn't have used the word "you" in my reply when i wasnt really replying to the original post, which would have saved some confusion, but at 2:30am proper properly adressing individuals in a thread isnt really the first thing running through my mind.
oh well.
good luck and i hope your lighting project works out good for you. if you can get more light on the road then thats all the better.
Thanks. Yeah, your post did seem like you were just trying to enlighten people, but I wasn't sure.
I'll post pics when I get a new kit. I can't find mine. :icon_rolleyes:
i tend to stay up late and not pay the most attention to making sure the right people know im responding to them, you should see some of the posts ive made on the grand prix forums im on 8)
but yeah, just so long as you know i wasnt bashing you, then all is well. post pictures of the install once it's done!
by the way, you say you've tried hir bulbs? how did those work out for you? i've been debating going with those for my gs because i want brighter lighting but i don't feel like going through the trouble to properly do a hid setup.